Castes and Tribes of Southern India. Vol. 7 of 7

by Edgar Thurston

Chourimala Iyappan or Sāstha, a sylvan deity, whose abode is Chourimala in Travancore, is a favourite deity of the Vālans. In addition, they worship the demi-gods or demons Kallachan Muri and Kochu Mallan, who are ever disposed to do them harm, and who are therefore propitiated with offerings of fowls. They have a patron, who is also worshipped at Cranganore. The spirits of their ancestors are also held in great veneration by these people, and are propitiated with offerings on the new moon and Sankranthi days of Karkadakam, Thulam, and Makaram.

The most important festivals observed by the Vālans in common with other castes are Mandalam Vilakku, Sivarāthri, Vishu, Ōnam, and Desara.

Mandalam Vilakku takes place during the last seven days of Mandalam (November to December). During this festival the Vālans enjoy themselves with music and drum-beating during the day. At night, some of them, developing hysterical fits, profess to be oracles, with demons such as Gandharva, Yakshi, or Bhagavathi, dwelling in their bodies in their incorporeal forms. Consultations are held as to future events, and their advice is thankfully received and acted upon. Sacrifices of sheep, fowls, green cocoanuts, and plantain fruits are offered to the demons believed to be residing within, and are afterwards liberally distributed among the castemen and others present.

The Sivarāthri festival comes on the last day of Magha. The whole day and night are devoted to the worship of Siva, and the Vālans, like other castes, go to Alvai, bathe in the river, and keep awake during the night, reading the Siva Purāna and reciting his names. Early on the following morning, they bathe, and make offerings of rice balls to the spirits of the ancestors before returning home.

The Vālans have no temples of their own, but, on all important occasions, worship the deities of the temples of the higher castes, standing at a long distance from the outer walls of the sacred edifice. On important religious occasions, Embrans are invited to perform the Kalasam ceremony, for which they are liberally rewarded. A kalasam is a pot, which is filled with water. Mango leaves and dharba grass are placed in it. Vēdic hymns are repeated, with one end of the grass in the water, and the other in the hand. Water thus sanctified is used for bathing the image. From a comparison of the religion of the Vālans with that of allied castes, it may be safely said that they were animists, but have rapidly imbibed the higher forms of worship. They are becoming more and more literate, and this helps the study of the religious works. There are some among them, who compose Vanchipāttu (songs sung while rowing) with plots from their Purānic studies.

The Vālans either burn or bury their dead. The chief mourner is either the son or nephew of the dead person, and he performs the death ceremonies as directed by the priest (Chithayan), who attends wearing a new cloth, turban, and the sacred thread. The ceremonies commence on the second, fifth, or seventh day, when the chief mourner, bathing early in the morning, offers pinda bali (offerings of rice balls) to the spirit of the deceased. This is continued till the thirteenth day, when the nearest relatives get shaved. On the fifteenth day, the castemen of the locality, the friends and relatives, are treated to a grand dinner, and, on the sixteenth day, another offering (mana pindam) is made to the spirit of the departed, and thrown into the backwater close by. Every day during the ceremonies, a vessel full of rice is given to the priest, who also receives ten rupees for his services. If the death ceremonies are not properly performed, the ghost of the deceased is believed to haunt the house. An astrologer is then consulted, and his advice is invariably followed. What is called Samhara Hōmam (sacred fire) is kept up, and an image of the dead man in silver or gold is purified by the recitation of holy mantrams. Another purificatory ceremony is performed, after which the image is handed over to a priest at the temple, with a rupee or two. This done, the death ceremonies are performed.

The ears of Vālan girls are, as among some other castes, pierced when they are a year old, or even less, and a small quill, a piece of cotton thread, or a bit of wood, is inserted into the hole. The wound is gradually healed by the application of cocoanut oil. A piece of lead is then inserted in the hole, which is gradually enlarged by means of a piece of plantain, cocoanut, or palmyra leaf rolled up.

The Vālans are expert rowers, and possess the special privilege of rowing from Thripunathura the boat of His Highness the Rāja for his installation at the Cochin palace, when the Aravan, with sword in hand, has to stand in front of him in the boat. Further, on the occasion of any journey of the Rāja along the backwaters on occasions of State functions, such as a visit of the Governor of Madras, or other dignitary, the headman leads the way as an escort in a snake-boat rowed with paddles, and has to supply the requisite number of men for rowing the boats of the high official and his retinue.

The Katal Arayans, or sea Arayans, who are also called Katakkoti, are lower in status than the Vālans, and, like them, live along the coast. They were of great service to the Portuguese and the Dutch in their palmy days, acting as boatmen in transhipping their commodities and supplying them with fish. The Katal Arayans were, in former times, owing to their social degradation, precluded from travelling along the public roads. This disability was, during the days of the Portuguese supremacy, taken advantage of by the Roman Catholic missionaries, who turned their attention to the conversion of these poor fishermen, a large number of whom were thus elevated in the social scale. The Katal Arayans are sea fishermen. On the death of a prince of Malabar, all fishing is temporarily prohibited, and only renewed after three days, when the spirit of the departed is supposed to have had time enough to choose its abode without molestation.

Among their own community, the Katal Arayans distinguish themselves by four distinct appellations, viz., Sankhan, Bharatan, Amukkuvan, and Mukkuvan. Of these, Amukkuvans do priestly functions. The castemen belong to four septs or illams, namely, Kattotillam, Karotillam, Chempotillam, and Ponnotillam.